The Cellar: Reserve Cava, Riesling + the Perfect Port
Friday, January 03, 2014
Happy New Years!
This week we will be focusing on some fantastic bubbles, a great Austrian white and a Cellar's first - a category that I am a huge fan of: Port!
NV Segura Viudas Reserva Heredad
This year I toasted the New Year in with Segura Viudas’s Cava Reserva Heredad. At under $20 this Reserve Cava, in its unique bottle, is not only appropriately festive but brings a lot of serious bubbles to the table. At Segura Viudas, which was named Wine & Spirits 2013 value brand of the year, they handcraft their sparkling wines the ‘Champenoise’ method - according to Cava traditions dating back over 100 years. The Reserva Heredad is the estate's top offering – a hand harvested blend of 67% Macabeo and 33% Parellada. After the second fermentation, which gives the wine its bubbles, the wine is aged on the dead yeast cells for 30 months, hand-riddled, etc. This is the real deal. I love this wine because it is has some serious weight behind it displaying a rich, coating mouthfeel. Its yeasty aromas and flavors are complimented by lovely toasted apples and hints of smoke. The wine finishes dry with lingering acidity.GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
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2011 Domäne Wachau Riesling Terrassen, Federspiel, Austria
At the most recent ‘Evening with Wine’ event at the Providence Wine Academy participants tasted some wonderful wines from South African and Austria. One of the wines that was in the running but didn’t make the final tasting list was the 2011 Riesling from Domäne Wachau, the region’s largest cooperative and the producers of some of Austria’s best value wines. Producers in Wachau have developed their own categories of classification dictating ripeness at harvest and finished alcohol levels.‘Steinfeder’ is the lightest style with a maximum alcohol of 11.5%. ’Federspiel’, which this wine is, must have a final alcohol range of 11.5%-12.5%. Finally, ‘Smaragd’ must have a minimum alcohol of 12.5%. Slightly off-dry this wine displays delicious apricot alongside ripe pears and lemon. The mouthwatering acidity on the finish keeps the wine fresh in your mouth.
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Quinta do Noval, Noval Black, Port, Portugal
This week’s last wine is a Cellar first – a fortified wine from Portugal. More specifically, this is the Noval Black Port from iconic producer Quinta do Noval. Established in 1715 Quinta do Noval has long been a pioneer in the Port industry. Among other things, they were the first to label their Tawny Port with the age indication that we are so familiar with today (10 Year, 20 Year, 40 Year, etc.). They were also the inventors of the Late Bottle Vintage category of Ports; a category which sees the best juice from a non-declared vintage aged for 4-6 years. With the Noval Black Quinta do Noval is once again creating somewhat of a new category – this time in the friendly ‘under $20’ category. The grapes for this wine are sourced from the famous Quinta do Noval vineyard, as well as from other vineyards in the Douro Valley and matured for 2 years, a portion in oak casks with the other portion is kept in stainless steel, keeping the wine fresh, full of dark fruit and vibrant. This is very easy sipper – ripe and meaty with dark spicy fruit and chocolate - a great entry-level bottling for any aspiring Port enthusiast.
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Enjoy!!
Steffen Rasch is a Certified Sommelier and Specialist of Wine. Feel free to email him at [email protected] with any wine-related question or learn about wine in person by signing up for one of his tastings through the Providence Wine Academy.
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